1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to lifting devices for vehicles and more specifically it relates to a pickup loading hoist for loading and unloading heavy cargo to and from a bed of a pickup without requiring physical exertion by the user and which can be easily disassembled into a compact storage position.
2. Description of the Prior Art
There are numerous lifting devices for vehicles. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 3,794,192 to Monson; U.S. Pat. No. 4,746,263 to Cook; U.S. Pat. No. 4,383,792 to Seabloom et al; U.S. Pat. No. 4,979,865 to Strickland; U.S. Pat. No. 5,119,961 to Runn; U.S. Pat. No. 3,918,592 to Paul; U.S. Pat. No. 4,216,941 to Little; U.S. Pat. No. 2,481,223 to Johnson; U.S. Pat. No. 410,371 to Moore all are illustrative of such prior art.
Monson (U.S. Pat. No. 3,794,192) discloses a folding support frame for boxes of pickup trucks which can be used for supporting a chain hoist which will fold into a compact storage position on the top of the pickup box without any of the members interfering with the box capacity.
Cook (U.S. Pat. No. 4,746,263) discloses a telescoping hoist assembly comprising a boom telescoping into and out of a mast pivotally anchored at one end of the pickup bumper structure and a power winch operated by the pickup electrical energizer mounted on the outward end of the boom.
While these devices may be suitable for the particular purpose to which they address, they are not as suitable for loading and unloading heavy cargo to and from a bed of a pickup without requiring physical exertion by the user and which can be easily disassembled into a compact storage position. None of the prior art is capable of elevating heavy cargo toward a frontal portion of the bed of the pickup.
In these respects, the pickup loading hoist according to the present invention substantially departs from the conventional concepts and designs of the prior art, and in so doing provides an apparatus primarily developed for the purpose of loading and unloading heavy cargo to and from a bed of a pickup without requiring physical exertion by the user and which can be easily disassembled into a compact storage position.